Radiation monitoring personnel generally work in the nuclear power community. These personnel are trained to conduct radiation surveys and contamination surveys of radiation areas and radioactive contamination areas. Radioactive contamination areas and radiation areas may come about by way of nuclear accidents involving, for example, leakage of radioactive particles from nuclear power plants. Radioactive contamination and radiation in an area may be accounted for due to multiple sources, including surface particulate contamination, air particulate contamination, and radioactive “hot spots.” It is desirable to know and set up perimeters for safe working conditions in and around radioactive contamination areas and radiation areas. For example, the United States Department of Energy promulgates predetermined radiation and contamination levels, and safe working criteria for radiation areas and contamination areas as described in the U.S. Department of Energy Radiation Control Manual, DOE/EH-0256T. Radiation monitoring personnel generally survey radiation areas and contamination areas to assess, monitor, and establish controls for theses areas in accordance with the promulgated criteria.
To this end, many radiological survey devices have been provided in the prior art to conduct surface contamination surveys, air particulate surveys, hot spot surveys, and background radiation surveys. These devices include Geiger-Mueller counters, scintillation detectors, proportional detectors or the like. For example, a surface contamination survey typically comprises placing a Geiger-Mueller counter relatively close to a surface area contaminated with radioactive particles, measuring the contamination in counts per minute. General rules of thumb are used to convert counts per minute to curies per square area or other similar surface contamination units. Alternatively or in addition to surface contamination surveys, air particulate surveys are conducted by evacuating a volume of air through a filter and measuring the counts from particulate on the filter with a Geiger-Mueller counter. Generally, a cubic meter of air is evacuated in order to convert the counts per minute into a unit of micro-curies per volume of air. Background and hot spot radiation surveys are often conducted with either Geiger-Mueller counters or scintillation detectors. Radiation monitoring personnel place the radiation detector within a range from a hot spot or throughout an area of background radiation and record radiation levels with respect to position.
Often radiation monitoring personnel carry maps and record radiation readings with respect to their position on the map. However, compilation of map data, including surface contamination surveys, radiation surveys, and air particulate surveys is a cumbersome process. A substantial amount of time is required to compile completed survey results, and environmental conditions may render the compiled data obsolete. For example, wind, rain, or other environmental parameters cause scattering of air particulate and surface particulate. Therefore, it is often necessary to determine the effect of environmental conditions upon the survey data in a short period of time. Delays in the compilation of data adversely affect the ability to account for environmental conditions. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for faster compilation of survey data.
Until recently, radiation and contamination surveys were considered primarily in the context of the nuclear power industry, and regulated in the United States by the United States Department of Energy. Radiation surveys are considered relatively ineffectual in the event of a nuclear bomb detonation, as the magnitude of radiation is dramatically higher. Therefore, civilian emergency response personnel, such as firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police officers, etc. were not trained to conduct such surveys. Accordingly, radiation survey equipment has remained very technical and specific to nuclear power industry trained radiation monitoring personnel. As a result, civilian emergency response personnel may find it rather difficult to use existing survey equipment.
Today, however, it is thought that terrorists may procure nuclear materials to combine with standard ordnance in order to produce a “dirty” bomb. Such a bomb would spread radiation using conventional explosives. The immediate damage of a bomb of this type is limited to the surrounding people and property. The larger problem is the wide distribution of radioactive particulate, which would pose a long term danger.
Civilian emergency response personnel are more likely to be the first responders to the scene of a “dirty” bomb explosion. Civilian emergency response personnel will have to rapidly assess the situation and care for the immediate casualties. Just as importantly, they must be able to assess the extent of the radiation threat so that they can evacuate people, control access, and begin clean up. In the case of a large bomb blast, the affected area may be very large and the intensity of the radiation may vary extensively. The surveys will be taken manually in a manner similar to the surveys described above. Therefore, civilian emergency response personnel now have a need for effective radiation survey equipment, which is simpler than the survey equipment used by nuclear industry trained radiation monitoring personnel.
Additionally, civilian emergency response personnel will compile the radiation survey data in a manner similar to that of the previously described compilation by nuclear power industry radiation monitoring personnel. For the same reasons, it is necessary to assess the survey results and determine the affect of environmental conditions upon the survey data in a short period of time. Therefore, these centers will require the ability to receive survey data as quickly as possible.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to have the ability to quickly compile radiation survey data. A radiation surveying device for this purpose should be easily used by both nuclear industry trained radiation monitoring personnel and civilian emergency response personnel alike. It would also be advantageous for the device to be small and portable. As such, it may be hand carried into areas of radiation and contamination for quick and effective compilation of radiation data in real time. Furthermore, there is an additional need for quick transmission of radiation survey data to places remote from the radiation and contamination areas.